Thursday, May 28, 2009

maybe some of you were wondering who jakwob is when they saw his remix of 'starry eyed' by ellie goulding way up high on the grindin may charts. actually i don't really know either but at least i know that he is uk-based, seems to be really productive and already had his tracks played on the radio shows that matter, meaning he got plays by annie mac and jaymo & andy george.

time for you to get to know him better now, as his 'starry eyed' remix is finally good to go and just like our friends over at neon gold are pointing out, this should definitely be the next big dubstep-flavoured hit after skream versus la roux, nero versus the streets and caspa versus deadmau5. and if you are missing an actual description of the track, just one word: fierce!

gotta love releases that kinda come out of nowhere, when you expect them the least. but that's what happens when superb labels prefer quality over quantity. indeed there's not too much coming out on banggang 12inches, but everything they put out is just great and it's not any different this time! what we get is a supercharged package of 'turbo love' remixes, the a-side of the last ep by bag raiders, who have just returned from their middle american bowling alley dj tour.

following knightlife, we have yet another 'come back' by one of our favourite aussie producers: whitenoise. i have been dying to hear some new tunes with all his noise and massive build-ups. that in addition to one of the best bag raiders tracks? you can do the math...

one of the other remixes in this powercharged turbo pack is done by a producer duo from australia named light year. we really hope to hear more from them in the future as they have successfully squeezed some cut up italo flavour into 'turbo love' awarding it a pleasant smooth party vibe.

and before anyone is asking "but where are the 'shooting stars' remixes?", we can assure you there's gonna be another remix ep dedicated to that lovely bag raiders b-side too. in the meantime you should enjoy these tracks and also check the other 'turbo love' remixes by shinichi osawa, k.i.m, flight facilities and spruce lee.

from one of the hottest producers on to the next team that currently provides constant straight fire: greenmoney are back with a new remix, this time going for xl recordings' new indie-pop band magistrates, taking just the right parts of their new single 'heartbreak' and ending up with some balearic sprinkles on top of their trademark uk funky inspired deep bass style. in short: another sure shot!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

discodust favorites sharkslayer are seriously going right through the roof just now, skyrocketing remix after remix alongside fresh original tracks. tonight we've got their remix for renaissance man's 'spraycan', an edit of the nadastrom remix for 'trouble is a friend' by lenka and their latest original named 'skanking' for you. don't miss out on this serious triple threat for the floors!

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

guess who's back? more than two years ago, when discodust was just getting started, knightlife from melbourne was one of our first 'huge' discoveries as far as then unsigned producers go and we ended up getting ahold of two of his tracks, 'ambobop' and 'all systems'. the post was not even up for a week or so and he got signed straight away by cut copy for a release on their very own label cutters records which featured the same two tracks we put up here.

the 'i' ep was followed by international tours with his new labelmates and remixes for majors players such as alex gopher, midnight juggernauts, bag raiders and of course cut copy, knightlife quickly established a reputation as one of the premium producers in the whole upcoming scene surrounding italo-french flavoured disco and house.

recently it has been a bit quiet around knightlife but the perfectionist he is, he obviously could not let go until his tracks reached a level of everlasting excellence. now the time has come, cutters just announced the release of his second ep, going by the name of (guess what?) 'ii'. three tracks strong, with two new originals and a carefully crafted remix of his well-known floorfiller 'all systems', the knight once again demonstrates that past and future can co-exist, resulting in timeless beauty.

we have got a radio edit of the long-awaited disco diamond 'crusader' straight from the ep right here for you and you should definitely check out the 'knightlife ii trailer' video as well, edited by the man himself.

remember the time when everyone got totally excited when a new production from alan braxe showed up somewhere? i just noticed how there hasn't been any hysteria associated with him for quite a while, probably mainly because he laid low for such a long time but i guess it is also due to his rather weak solo tracks 'addicted' and 'nightwatcher' (yeah i know, same thing, guys). nevertheless, alan braxe was probably just busy getting the uk outfit fenech-soler on track with their debut single 'the cult of romance' on his very own label vulture.

the single release also includes a remix by alan braxe. while i have to admit i did not expect too much, the fact that i had it on repeat all weekend should be proof enough that it's really good. not your typical french house at all, yet conveying the signature warmth and dreaminess, this is definitely one of the most beautiful and opinionated tracks to come out of france in a long time. but listen for yourself, as i am clearly struggling for on-point comparisons!

if you like what you hear, show these guys some support and buy the single on itunes. many thanks to the lovely people over at the up and coming too many sebastians for clearing this track for blogging. now let's end this post with a rather pathetic 'welcome back alan braxe, music sounds better with you!'
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remember when someone wise said there seems to be more and more joints with rappers and actual electro producers these days? well, sydney-based rapper snob scrilla joins in on the fun backed up with a custom production by bang gang 12-inches frontliners bag raiders, taking the rocket-fueled boy/girl-storytelling track 'spaceship' up where it belongs!

snob scrilla's album 'day one' should be somewhere out there and if he managed to keep up the level of 'spaceship', it should be pretty damn 'superrad'. shouts to the always amazing hyperbole for bringing this to my attention!
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Monday, May 25, 2009

there's no producer out there who is more active than rotterdam-based jaimie fanatic, is there? 130+ tracks associated with his name on beatport, more than 10 of those since early april. sickness. obviously diplo and the gang were amazed as well, as jaimie fanatic has recently joined the ranks of team mad decent.

a couple of days ago jaimie fanatic posted 'el musicae' on his twitter - an unreleased track with fellow netherlands producer jesse voorn, once again showing off that he has good tracks for days. and once more it is rave-flavoured electro house at it's best!

as a bonus and to show you a much more dancefloor mayhem-rave side of jaimie fanatic, here's the title track of his mad decent ep "what's happening to ya". pick up the full release in high quality over at beatport.

our australian friends this/is made quite some progress ever since we posted their very well received debut track 'what happiness sounds like' back then late last year. obviously interscope has found out about them and had them do official remixes for 'chillin' by wale and lady gaga as well as 'patron tequila' by new girl band sensation paradiso girls featuring lil jon and eve.

and see what we have got right here: this/is turning 'patron tequila' into a dancefloor stormer along the lines of early mstrkrft or designer drugs while maintaining their own signature sound! grab it now!

wonders never cease. even baile funk has begun to progress and evolve its sound. edu k has been around for a few years and remixed by the likes of crookers and nadastrom. with his peers, such as diplo also introducing new sounds from around the world, edu k refuses to be left behind in the dust. the native brazilian is fusing sounds indigenous to his home with new trends and coming up with some surprisingly remarkable results. throw a marching band on a dancefloor in a brazilian favela and that might just give you an idea of what he sounds like.

no one is safe from his sound, either. everyone from big room house monster albin myers to tee 'ski & shab ruffcut to mozambique's own seguindo sonhos is getting an edu k makeover. and he's not afraid to use any kazoo, child's vocal, drum or horn in his arsenal. watch out world. we've got a live one!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

we have already introduced you to jokers of the scene. we have already introduced you to rob threezy. you know that nightshifters is our hottest tip for the hottest label this year. but you have got no idea what happens when these worlds collide!

miss connie, black angus and mc double d are back in the house, yo! you might know them better as sneaky sound system and if you didn't know yet, they had the longest chart run in history, their debut album made double platinum and at times they had four singles in the top forty, accompanied by tours with scissor sisters, jamiroquai and robbie williams - in their home country australia, mind you.

in order to conquer the entire world, sneaky sound system are currently preparing an album for world release, featuring the very best of their two albums and are invading the united states starting june 17th. the powers that be destined super producer stuart price to take their song "it's not my problem" for a spin and out came one of his best remixes in ages, if i may say so. or maybe i am confusing the thin white duke with fred falke right here, just because this remix sounds like fred falke at his best? or maybe i am just drunk and want some love. who doesn't?

note that this track is in 320 kbps, as opposed to the file floating around earlier. i have gone through quite a few mails with the lovely agency people responsible for promoting this to get 'us' the high quality version and you know i've got hard days at work anyway, so all of you'd better show me some love for my tireless commitment which only serves one purpose: please you thousands of readers out there! next drink is definitely on you! cheers!

EDIT: this is like the 10th post i had to re-post because of dmca bullshit within two weeks. can you guys please get a fucking clue?
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Wednesday, May 20, 2009

uk producer andy meecham's latest project, the emperor machine is known for making spaced-out, psychedelic disco. sometimes when i'm listening to him, i space out and let my mind drift off into some 70's science fiction soundtrack. i love the variety of percussive instruments used to enrich each track. obviously this sound is a residual from his past incarnation in chicken lips but he also was involved in bizarre inc, best known by their rave anthem 'playing with knives'. quite a respectable track record, right?

'you clapper' is taken from the emperor machine's last double a-sided single 'black ken/you clapper', the follow-up single 'kananana' is out this week on london's dc recordings. the new album 'space beyond the egg' is coming on june 1st.

always on the cutting edge, our friends from dummy records also recognized the greatness and had the emperor machine remix their second single release: 'midnights' by lost valentinos. you know you're going on a trip when the track is over 13 minutes long. so buckle up, lay back, leave it all behind and let's go!

Monday, May 18, 2009

one needs only a simple glance at relish recordings label boss headman (pictured above with erol alkan) to realize that he is a man of impeccable taste. not only does he look like he stepped out of 'the great gatsby', he is quite the music historian and can hold his own with any other disco aficionado.

it's about time that the late 70's make an electronic comeback. long lost in the depths of 'where are they now?', the talking heads-esque, synth-punk ingenues, the units have been resurrected thanks to headman and rory phillips of now sadly defunct club durrr fame. amongst all the synths and reverb, he lets the song shine thru while still leaving his super smooth headman thumbprint on it.

here is the next treat from discodust fellows hot pink delorean who once again teamed up with their friend knowlton walsh for this absolutely crazy remix of the faint. and by crazy i mean crazy - but in all sorts of positive ways! it starts off so smooth, first making you think they are going for new domains, and then turns into this unforeseen yet proper styled hot pink delorean plus your favourite extras (james brown really is in a good mood these days). i suspect you are gonna be surprised, so check it out!

the times they are a-changin'. as people are slowly growing tired and their eardrums worn out by all the electro banging and distortion, they are looking more towards other genres for musical inspiration. i'm slowly noticing a few labels and producers popping up that are turning the tides.

harvard bass is no newcomer to the blogs. i've posted on him before here and here but he's really starting to get some major recognition with his previous and upcoming releases on sound pellegrino. well what better to post than a track featuring both newcomers? seriously, don't sleep on these guys!

here's yet another successful new york collaboration: chairlift were lucky enough to snag the juan maclean to remix their latest release. not only does the juan have one of the best recently released albums, an amazing set of remixes on his last ep release, an equally mesmerizing franz ferdinand remix (at discobelle), but he aced this one as well!

so either someone's playing tricks on me or raw man has got some serious love for discodust because i just had their track 'what you need' in the mail which is super-lovely flawless french house by the book and seems to be unreleased so far, forthcoming on eye industries.

just in case this track seems familiar to you, a radio edit has shown up on a few blogs back in october but 'our' version is over six minutes and has a nice long breakdown with wonderful chords. so, with 'uk funky' bringing back the more funky and percussion-laden side of house, what about bringing 'real french house' (as in 'no punching drums' or distortion but dreamy to the fullest with lush melodies) back this summer as well? priors are showing you how.

this track is just the beginning for priors, the uk single release is coming soon and an album is in the works. show priors some love on myspace while i'll try and get us some more of that french house goodness!
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Thursday, May 14, 2009

telonius is one half of munk and is breaking off on his own to be the first release on the new sublabel. i've come to expect nothing but quality releases from gomma and they are still meeting those expectations. luckily, they let me share my favorite remix off of the release with you guys. the glimmers (pictured above) take the track back to early detroit via chicago with a detour thru an analog synth for one smoooooth trip.

purchase the twelve-inch straight from iamsound. a big thanks to travis over at bigstereo for clearing this track to post. travis, i gave some nigerian prince my credit card number because he said that if i gave a generous donation to his country then he could send my complimentary bottle of champagne to you instead. so keep an eye out! he said it was cristal!
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nero are my absolute favorite dubstep producers, hands down. i have been heavily into drum & bass and neurofunk back in the days, especially the darker and harder tracks with technoid elements from the likes of ed rush & optical (who just released a great new album), stakka & skynet, cause 4 concern or concord dawn.

when dubstep first became popular and all the major media tried to make me think 'dubstep' is all along the lines of the sophisticated ambient trickery of burial, i quickly lost interest as it just did not seem fun at all to me. about half a year ago, i came across 'this way' by nero, was totally stunned right away and ever since i am watching dubstep really close, the majority of my junodownload purchases being heavy dubstep tracks.

now with caspa remixing deadmau5, nero remixing the streets and the huge success of skream's remix for la roux, the harder and more ravey dubstep sound is definitely one of the most interesting things going on these days (probably not if you are a hardcore dubplate culture person but i never quite 'got' that anyway).

with that in mind, it's no surprise that new york-based electro disco party-harders boy crisis (pictured above) got remixed by nero for the uk release of their new single 'dressed to digress'. starting with some trancehall chords, their remix soon leads into a heavy drop that brings pure destruction, inevitably leading to heavy headnodding and skanking mayhem all over the dancefloor. we've got the remix right here for you and i am so glad that i can finally feature nero on discodust, to quote the song lyrics: 'let me catch my b-b-b-b-breath'.

our favorite asian (don't worry them jeans, i didn't say tallest) dim mak resident dj, dan oh, is back with another heavy remix. this time, he became so consumed in his love for the new yeah yeah yeahs album that he couldn't resist making a bootleg when he stumbled across the parts for 'heads will roll'. he speeds it up and grimes it up. whoever thought that the yeah yeah yeahs could be part of a bassline set or segway into dubstep?

the last remix comes from my favorite tallest dim mak resident, them jeans. he has progressed from doorman to resident dj to curator of the infamous 'dim mak tuesdays' and has now taken it a step further to producer ranks. staying in tune with the current trend of ethnic drums spreading through all genres like wildfire, he tastefully chose some lighter drums, crafted a bassline and added some acoustic flavour using the song 'soft shock'. yeah yeah yeah!

we are hardly ever featuring rap on discodust which is a bit odd as i listen to a lot of it lately and it's probably the genre with the most exciting productions and well-crafted actual 'songs' around these days - the mere existence of so bones, the newly established hip hop flavoured offshoot by 20 jazz funk greats, should be proof enough that it's about time to keep your ear to the streets, they never seemed so busy.

following fellow grindin tastemakers passion of the weiss and neon gold, i came across chiddy bang and super-group the rap pack, both from philadelphia, rolling their own versions of 'kids' by mgmt and 'do it' by joker (pictured above), proving that raps based on electronic club bangers are a deadly combination.

alex metric has been inflating his musical balloon for the last year between producing freeland's album, developing a live show, and finishing his own lp. well, the balloon is ready to burst with pop music all over.

his songs sound like they are practically begging to be performed live and couldn't come at a better time with the recent onslaught of the dj/producer. so with red keytar in hand, he's ready to sing his way into our ears and hearts. awwwwww!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

london-based greenmoney are leo greenslade (who runs the famous yoyo clubnights) and alex phountzi from bugz in the attic and if i wasn't constantly living in chaos, they should have been featured on here weeks ago. ever since i heard their remix of 'skydiving' by upcoming uk rapper twizzle on annie mac's show (yeah yet again), i've been totally obsessed with their uk funky, reggae and dub flavoured bass-booming tunes. hard-hitting yet uplifting, this track definitely deserves to be one of the biggest anthems for this summer!

in order to give you some more insight on the greatness of greenmoney, we've also got their 'showcase mixtape' for you, featuring all their masterpieces to date, including their edits of terry lynn, kid cudi, kanye west and many more. and you can pick up their 'liquid re-rub' of 'tic toc' by busy signal right here as well. these guys are nothing but fresh!

these days it's difficult to not expect the monotonous dj/producer protocol from most people: make some music, play songs that we all like, do some remixes, get them up on blogs, etc. it's easy for them to be perceived as one-dimensional, but a little digging sometimes reveals a lot of substance. i think that diplo is a prime example of this phenomenon. keep reading to find out why.

miss toats (discodust): ok, so the main reason that i wanted to do this interview is because i think you're widely misinterpreted. i think a large amount of the blog-reading and club-going population think that you're a feel good, party dj. they probably know that you previously worked with m.i.a and have the mad decent label, but i'm not sure if people realize that you just finished a documentary, you started a charitable foundation in australia and you're a musical ambassador of sorts.

diplo: well, maybe the young kids have that impression, but i know the journalists are aware of what i do. it was their criticism that drove me to start these projects. people were so critical of me bringing more ethnic sounds and music into my style. there's actually a funny story about a journalist in baltimore that hated me. he wrote for pitchfork for a while and dissed everyone in our whole crew from me to spank rock to amanda blank. he dissed this party that my friend colin threw because he booked blaqstarr for this big white-kid rave party. he said all these things about how those artists should 'stick to their own party' and how the white kids should only listen to these other kinds of music and the barriers shouldn't be broken. so it's partially the journalists' fault for trying to create controversy and segregation. but thanks to artists like m.i.a and santigold there's a new scene developing, so maybe those younger kids don't know my history.

well, i know you've gotten a lot of flak for being the white boy going to brazil and jamaica and bringing back the music from the favelas. i even read somewhere write that you were 'raping the indigenous music of the country'. what do you think the difference is between stealing and exposing different music? or sampling and claiming?

it's definitely give and take. i started doing music through learning how to make hip hop. i couldn't play guitar or be in a band, but i could find old records in the garage and splice them together. and hip-hop is an amalgamation of everything. the kids that i work with in brazil and africa are sampling stuff that i grew up in florida listening to; old hip-hop or cheesy techno records. those guys are my peers. and the fact remains that i keep going back to those places. i don't take their music and run, i keep coming back and i have a relationship with these people. the reggae scene is so exclusive in jamaica that they have to trust you and know that you're helping them as much as helping yourself in order to let you in. the bottom line is that everyone just wants to get paid and we're very diligent in giving everyone due credit.

i also think it's important to represent scenes that don't have good representation. before i went to brazil i couldn't find any track names or artist names to music that i had heard. now there are baile funk scenes popping up all over the country so it seems to be gaining a little speed now. our goal with mad decent is to put this kind of music and these kinds of underexposed artists and give them access to the entire industry. when i was young, the only music education i had were my parents records in the garage and a few bootleg mixtapes, so i'm hoping that mad decent radio can be a similar exposure tool for young kids out there now.

that kind of leads into my next question about your thoughts on why people hate on mainstream success?

well, we haven't reached mainstream success just yet. we (diplo and switch) did get nominated for a grammy which is about as mainstream as it can get, but 'paper planes' is about the weirdest song you can put on mainstream radio. we are just wrapping up a reggae album and to attempt that in 2009 is far from striving for mainstream success. if we get any sort of notoriety, i think it's because we've earned it for doing something against the grain and different. i'm doing some mainstream productions right now, but it's hit-or-miss. rappers do not want to take chances and labels don't want to spend money unless they know it's going to be a hit. so they go to doctor luke instead of diplo. big labels used to have huge urban artist rosters, but the scene is changing and so they scaled back to only beyoncé who pays all the bills. lil jon came straight to me because he's as crazy as i am when it comes to making music. you don't get signed to make a hit anymore, you have to make it yourself and hope that it becomes something.

so do you think there's not as many opportunities like that for you now?

i've done stuff with three 6 mafia and shakira, so if those opportunities keep presenting themselves, then i'm going to continue to do what i do on those tracks. if i don't get the opportunity to make a full pop album, maybe one of our mad decent artists like rusko, boy 8-bit or popo would be more willing to experiment and i would have complete creative freedom like that. when i first started working with maya she was on some sh*tty uk label. now i get hit up by little teeny-bopper girls on major labels saying that they want to sound like m.i.a. but m.i.a's album wasn't formulaic, it just happened. and the majors have no idea how it turned into such a success, they just want to capitalize on it now.

sure some people still have their formula like rick ross, eminem or 50 cent, but they're not contributing anything new any more. i'm working with this new artist, maluca, and we're playing with almost a meringue sound. maybe that will be big in a year, who knows? but if it's not, at least we're trying something new and having fun while we do it.

let's talk about major lazer. i know that's your new dancehall album with switch and from the songs i've heard so far, it's anything but formulaic. you make music out of crying babies to squeals i've never heard before.

me and switch wanted to make a reggae/dancehall album because all of the club music coming out right now is so serious and heavy. this is kind of a cultivation of the sound we've built over the last two years and is more of a proper, fun dance album.

well, it couldn't have come at a better time with electro music already having peaked and kind of being on the decline. people are searching for what musical trend is next, but no one really knows. a lot of people are focusing on dubstep, but i don't think that it has the mainstream potential to fill the shoes of electro.

ya, we signed rusko because we think he's bigger than dubstep. but i try to pay attention to the trends in all the scenes. i pay attention to the house scene, the electro scene, the dubstep scene, and then just try to make something that hasn't been done before and unpredictable.

do you have any limits around any types of music that you won't mess with?

sure, if i don't like a certain type of music then i probably won't have anything to contribute to it so i tend to leave it alone.

ok, i love twitter. i know it's just a trend, but i like writing bullshit really quick that i never have to read again. and i also don't have to read what other people say if i don't want to follow them. i follow my friends, except for ashton kutcher and diddy. i think it's perfect for someone like me or someone who is in the music industry because it's so easy for us all to keep connected all the time when we're traveling. it's better than tv.

speaking of random celebrities, how did you hook up with andy milonakis?

i first spotted andy about six months ago doing youtube videos of his autotuned version of dancehall records. so i really wanted to work with him a bit for major lazer because i loved his comedy, too. so i reached out to him on myspace and he was totally up for it. as far as reggae music goes, he's probably the biggest reggae fan that i've ever met in my life. he's actually a pretty good rapper, too.

i was actually working with this jamaican girl and her crew one night and andy came over to afterparty. i left him alone with all the jamaicans for about twenty minutes and when i came back they were all wide eyed because here was this white, fat guy singing reggae songs. i mean we're two white guys putting out a dancehall album, so it's not a super serious thing. we had to include andy.

i'm not sure if most of this new wave of kids that didn't follow you from the beginning five-ish years ago know about your community program. can you tell me the most recent developments with heaps decent?

this year we are working on building a solid backbone for the future. at this point, all we really have is heaps decent running full time in australia. we've begun the process to open another in brazil (in rio with help from redbull) and hope to plant programs in london and south africa.

i just hope we can continue to make it grow, but we definitely need help. by the year 2010 i want to make it a serious program worldwide. it's easy for a dj like me to give a little bit back here and there, just on a minimal level like bringing in sponsors to donate equipment and computers. but i really want to focus on the outreach and changing kids' lives. that takes a lot of manpower and organization. in australia we've been fortunate to have done some major things with help from m.i.a, spank rock, sammy bananas, radioclit, al haca, boy 8 bit and yelle. they have all volunteered and donated their time there with the kids.

even though he has nothing left to prove, diplo just recently finished his first documentary called 'favela on blast', inspired by his early mixtape and the culture that spawned it. below are some clips and a little behind-the-scenes video about the process and how the project came to be.

considering that i have posted nearly all of his (good to blog) tracks, you probably know the deal by now - foamo is still my favorite 'fidget' producer, although that label doesn't really do him justice any more. his recent remixes are far superior to everything i've heard from the usual (copycat) suspects in the recent past, as he keeps on throwing more well-crafted melodic synths and the arrangements are getting more and more complex, yet staying focused.

just in and constantly playing on repeat is foamo's latest remix for the new la roux single 'bulletproof'. boasting a heavy bassline and uplifting chords, perfectly keeping company with elly jackson's vocals, this remix will definitely set the big room on fire! enjoy another discodust first!

and as if that wasn't enough, we've got yet another big tune from foamo that hasn't hit the blogs yet: man like me's declaration of love to the united kingdom's capital, 'london town'. piano chord stabs, amen breaks and a couple of pitched up vocal chops add some old school uk hardcore flavour to the driving bassline, turning this remix into a perfect summer anthem - so kick back and enjoy the sunshine. i can't even decide which of the two tunes is better, i just fucking love both of them!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

blatta & inesha are back on discodust once again. last time their post practically ignited a riot on the blog (addition from aleks: and afterwards the whole world posted about them). well, i'm down for round two so let's see what they brought for us this time.

the first track's a bit deceitful. it may start out a tad formulaic, but give it about a minute and twenty seconds and you'll see why the guys are still keeping the blog world a-buzz.

seems like a rather odd pairing for the italians with telepopmusik since i only remember the group from the super floaty 'just breathe'. well blatta & inesha do a masterful job of maintaining a few key elements of the original while still hardening it up enough for the clubs. awww, is this what their soft side sounds like?

new york blog/label palms out and the bass battalion are back with a release from b. rich and la's whiskey pete on vocals. he delivers the wobbly basslines, the housey riffs and even if the track's title may appear 'anti-party', it's actually the opposite, a pure party anthem!

boston's sluttt remix the flipside "can't take what i got" and take you on a drugged out trip down the acid hole to the rave cave. with the vocals pitched up and pitched down, sluttt obviously like to work with their wild imagination and a lot of substances. but hey, the final effect is win win win and won't give you a nasty hangover.

mille from stockholm, sweden, has been producing house music when he was 20, then took a break from music, ditching it for 3d graphics design studies and just last fall, he decided to get back into production again. it seems like he finally found his very own style this time around, drawing a lot of inspiration from commodore 64 and sega mega drive games as well as the french electro scene, although i think the only artist over there who can really be compared to him would be danger.

with these influences it's no surprise that mille combines chiptune leads and commodore 64 sid soundchip-style arpeggios with elements of today's dance music. i can't really tell how his music would work in a club but both tracks we've got for you today, 'ghost dancer' and 'crysteena' are definitely some of the best musical work i have heard in ages and remind me how i spent hours in front of the commodore 64 back in the days, just listening to game music soundtracks because i liked the chiptune sounds so much (what a weirdo, eh).

so if you have ever heard of legendary game music composer jeroen tel or enjoy the more playful moments of russ chimes, mille is more than right for you!

nightshifters is well on it's way to becoming a major player in the neu-music-label world. already into their seventh release, they've had nothing but positive feedback about their heavy hitters. well, heavy hitter #7 is rob threezy. he was one of the original nightshifters signees whose first single also got snatched up by mad decent. it may start out a bit dark and brooding, but you know threezy wouldn't leave us without a bit of a chicago house buildup or two.

Monday, May 11, 2009

playing catch up again, here are two recent tracks by the beloved vega, 'no reason' clearly being the standout superior one, clearly lifting the band up to the heights of phoenix and zoot woman in catchy synth pop-heaven.

Friday, May 08, 2009

if there is one label that remains a bit under the radar but is grossly underrated, its supersoul recordings. their latest release from plastique de rêve is all the proof you need. they consistently put out music full of soul and substance, with this release in no way an exception to that high standard. the beat has such a drive that i haven't been able to stop listening to them ever since they popped onto my computer.

plastique de rêve is no stranger in the music world, either. the berlin-based producer has long been obsessed with electronic music and has had past releases on international dj gigolos, turbo and mental groove. i think his collaboration with supersoul is a match made in heaven and don't think i can wait nine months for their next musical lovechild.

if there's one constant over here at discodust, it's that insane madman from edinburgh, hostage, who is the living equivalent to 'never stop the rave again'. i can't even count how often we featured him on here or how many fucking sick tracks he delivered by now but he just keeps surprising me and comes up with new ideas and fresh vibes like every other week, keeping on pushing things forward.

autodidakt from traktor records obviously thought the same and got hostage to do a remix for his 'ghetto nonsense' ep (artwork above). you can preview the remix right here:

we're also glad to be hosting a competition along with this release and help traktor records with giving away five copies of the twelve-inch vinyl. all you need to do is answer the following question: 'just how ghetto do you think you are?' and mail your answers to autodidakt1@gmx.de - keep in mind: the more nonsense the answer, the better!

as if that wasn't enough, alan hostage hooked us up with two brandnew tracks, proving that he is still on the dubstep/bassline tip, bringing us 'pirates' and 'rudeboys', of course flavoured with his trademark rave sound. (and very secret sources told me you'll most likely hear one of them on annie mac's upcoming show!) grab them right here, three-twenty kbps of course!

you might be wondering why we're featuring video games now. well, first of all 'bionic commando' and basically all capcom titles are among my personal all-time favorites, ever since i started playing games back in the c-64 days, to the amiga and super nintendo, the playstation and still lasting until today on current next-gen consoles. and even more important for us, capcom got uk heavy bass producer rusko, french techno saviour surkin and drum & bass legend clipz to remix the original 'bionic commando' theme.

we've got the premiere of the clipz remix right here for you today. with 15 years of experience in the jungle and drum & bass 'game' and releases on full cycle and audio zoo in his discography, the bristol-based producer adds some deep heavy bass and rolling breaks to the original game theme while staying true to the 8-bit flavour with lots of chiptune arpeggios, bleeps and sound fx.

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

the undisputed scandinavian queen of new era italo-influenced pop sally shapiro returns with her wonderful new single 'miracle', once again produced by johan agebjörn and roger gunnarsson - a winning team reigns supreme again!

the twelve-inch vinyl and digital downloads officially drop on june 16th on one of my favorite german labels, munich-based permanent vacation. but right now and straight from the source, you can hear 'miracle' first on discodust!

it's been a long time coming, but brooklyn lady of trouble & bass is ready to unleash her first heavy bass ep on the unsuspecting ears of the world. star eyes has always held her own dj'ing with the t&b guys, but she's stepping up her game and it couldn't be at a better time. the brooklyn bass clan gaining more and more exposure with drop the lime playing at coachella this year, scion putting out a trouble & bass sampler, and trouble & bass dj's starting to spread the bass all over the world.

it's time to celebrate the next single off of clubfeet's 'gold on gold' lp out on plant records. the original is a pop ballad that sounds fit for a afterschool segment about the difficulties of growing up. although it might be tongue in cheek, a spoonful of sugar pop always helps digesting the tough topics.

eli escobar outdoes himself again on his lazy day, spaced out version. he takes the sugary bubble-gum pop out and injects it with soft breezes and sunsets. oh that sounds so girly, but listen and you'll see what i mean. have we found the next lifelike?

i sat down with kim from the presets as he had just returned from playing at the ultra festival in miami. he seemed quite perplexed as to their place in this mainly techno music festival, but was enjoying it nonetheless. while most interviews are set up by pr people to promote a tour or a new album, he didn't have anything specific on his agenda to promote. we just sat and talked about whatever came to mind, sometimes it's nice to just talk about nothing.

kim: ya i didn't quite get it [being booked for the ultra festival]. it's supposed to be a dance festival, but the music they were playing in between acts didn't quite fit. it seemed a bit corporate. we've played winter music conference before but we always feel a bit out of place.

ya it's totally an electronic techno dance festival and seems that only very recently have electro acts been infiltrating to play. don't you ever get the urge to break loose and maybe when you're in situations like this choose to play music that's out of character for you guys? pull a big room house set in south beach miami?

i would have liked to, we just never seem to do it.

but i'm glad you have that stamp on your hand so we can talk about it (looks down to see 'gude laune' which means 'good mood' in german). i was just curious how you got obsessed with sven väth?

kim: oh right. it's because of that sven panel that someone sent to me. i couldn't stop getting on it and listening to him saying 'gude laune'. my friend and i got really delirious one night in san francisco and got matching tattoos and shirts. we were like 'are we really sure we want this forever? yeaaaahhhh! good mood forever!'

oh it's not a stamp?

kim: haha no its a tattoo. it's for life. but now if i could make it into something else, i will.

no leave it. i'm sure you'll get into every german club for free. back to speaking about you guys playing interesting festivals, i remember seeing you guys a few years back at the folsom street fair. was that one of the weirdest gigs you've ever had?

kim: ahh yes, the leather daddies masturbating while someone else is filming them getting whipped. that's my dream come true to perform right in front of that. we've played it a few years now and it gets weirder each time we play. we love those guys. one of our friends is one of the organizers so that's how we ended up there.

do they get into your music?

kim: yes, they really get into it. i had no idea we had so many fans in the gay/leather-daddy community.

oh did you hear about the whole steve angello/paris hilton fiasco that happened here yesterday? do you frequently get terrible at demanding requests while dj'ing?

kim: oh ya. my ultimate pet peeve is when people type in requests on their cell phones. i just usually grab their phone, close it and hand it back. i wish i had the balls to do what a friend of mine does, it'd be great. he's occasionally grabbed the phone, found 'mom', dialed it and then sort of sit down and say 'muuuum, i'm fuckin peaking on my first ecstasy tablet. this is amazing! i love you!' at 2 am.

i'm always curious where people get their music from? where do you normally get stuff from?

kim: these days it comes from all over. alot of the time i'm lucky enough to get sent promos. i go to beatport about once a week too, but i generally just buy a bunch of music that i don't play out or ever listen to again.

kim: i think the presets are, but i'm not. i just recently found out what it was. i think its big here in the states, but it's not as big back home. even regis and kelly are talking about it, so you know it's kindof blown out at this point. i don't really want to know what people have had for breakfast. it's pretty narcissistic.

well, you guys don't seem very subject to trends either. it seems as though the presets and most everyone else that emerged from australia around that time don't have a trend-based sound that's going out of style. how do you guys manage to keep this up and who has been influencing your sound lately?

kim: a lot of techno. i don't think people are really ready for it yet. the gigs that i've played mostly techno sets have been quite duds because i think they are expecting me to play stuff that sounds like our music. so i had to burn a bunch of electro cds this morning. you gotta play a little bit of what people want in addition to what you want.

so are you trying to sneak away to germany as often as you can to get your real techno fix?

kim: ya, i wish.

well then this is about as close as you're gonna get for a while. i'll meet you at the cocoon party!read more!

Monday, May 04, 2009

discodust favorites designer drugs from the iheartcomix! camp just dropped the europe only vinyl release of their rave-approved bangers 'zombies!' and 'back up in this' along with remixes from bird peterson, le castle vania, nadastrom and don rimini. the digital bundle comes with a few additional remixes and we've got the one by b. rich right here! and you know that that means, heavy bass rave action coming your way!

those canadians are at it again. thunderheist just released their self-titled debut album and we're ready for the onslaught of remixes that will ensue. first one out of the gates is from mansion. true to form they speed it up, jazz it up, spice it up making it dance-floor, ipod (*ahem i mean iphone), big-soundsystem ready.

idiotproof polish a rather minimal glaze on thunderheist's next single. besides isis' vocals, it's almost a new song altogether but would probably work in a whole different range of parties that the original wouldn't. ahh, it's the simpler things in life.

thunderheist are pretty much booked out all over europe and the states until july so check their myspace for their schedule. and rumor has it that mansion are making their maiden voyage to the states in july so keep your eyes open for tour dates because you definitely don't want to miss these two.
read more!